The US West might not be as wild as it once was, but it’s still got some of the most dramatic scenery on earth. For any photographer interested in landscape this is right at the top of the bucket list. The views here are breathtaking, indeed awesome, in the true sense of the word…

Horseshoe Bend

I’m leading a photographic workshop with Paul Gallagher from Aspect2i to Arizona and Utah later this year (6-15th October). We will travel from the grand vistas of Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon, through Zion Park and Bryce Canyon to the hidden gems of Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon. A trip from the dramatic to the sublime.

Monument Valley

Lower Antelope Canyon

We will photograph the hoodoos, mesas, buttes, rock formations, the rivers and the valleys. We will have private tours of Mystery Valley to visit the Native American cave dwellings. We will visit the famous slot canyons near Page, but also have a private guide to some of the not so famous slot canyons that the crowds can’t get to.

Lady in the Rock. Lower Antelope Canyon

Dried mud, Wirepass Gulch

Sandfall

Chief

Tree in Zion Park

Dusk in Zion Park

Bryce Canyon amphitheatre

The trip is timed to coincide with the Fall, so we will get the best possible colour in the landscape. The American South West is simply stunning. It’s a photographer’s paradise. If you’re interested and want to know more, then get in contact with me, or look at Aspect2i’s webpage. I can promise you dramatic photographs and memories to last a life-time (and I can get you a discount on the list price of the tour too!)

When I was growing up I never, ever, thought I would say something like this: I love a good rock. But it’s true. Some of the most spectacular awe-inspiring things I’ve photographed are… rocks! Look, here’s a lion bursting out of the rock…

What happened to my rock and roll youth? It must be age (middle, I hasten to add, and only just…), a greater awareness of surroundings, context, time. And a growing appreciation of natural beauty.

These curves, swirls, and flows all come from the slot canyons near Page in Arizona. The rocks look alive, full of movement and colour. These pics aren’t tweaked – this colour is real. One of the most spectacular places on the planet – almost not of this planet: otherworldly.

I loved photographing in this place so much that I’m going back there in Oct next year to lead a photographic workshop. Check it out if you’re interested: http://www.aspect2i.co.uk/intermediate-level-yosemite-national-park-photography-ID115.html Six guests plus two workshop leaders (myself and Paul Gallagher). It’s going to be awesome!

Beauty and danger quite often go together, and that is certainly the case with the (in)famous slot canyons of Arizona. The beauty is quite astonishing; truly, one of the natural wonders of the world.

Slot canyon, Arizona.

These curves and waves have been petrified into the soft rock. The colour comes from the minerals; and the soft lighting from above makes the whole glow. It’s breath-taking & exquisite.

Rock Lion

Upper Antelope Canyon

These are not big canyons; 10-20 metres deep and pretty narrow. In some places I needed to take my camera bag off so I could squeeze through the gap. And therein lies the danger. Rain water, sometimes up to 30 miles off, can flash-flood through these canyons. You can’t outrun a flood, you can’t swim in it. The water, which creates all this fantastic beauty, will annihilate anything in its path.

Lower Antelope Canyon

Lady in the rock

Is all this beauty worth the risk? For me, yes. But only after checking the weather forecast, very, very, carefully…